Estrada progresses, but Roenicke won't rush him

MILWAUKEE -- It has been a long road back for Marco Estrada from a hamstring injury suffered in early June, but he made a bit of progress Friday with a rehab outing at Triple-A Nashville.

Estrada threw 2 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out two and walking two. He threw 47 pitches, 25 for strikes, but Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he would like to see Estrada make at least one more rehab start before returning.

"I don't want to just bring him back here [before he's ready]," Roenicke said. "We've filled in OK with the starters we have. Ideally, we'd like to get him at least one more start."

Estrada was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 5 with a strained left hamstring and he has also battled back issues.

The right-hander had a 4-4 record and 5.32 ERA in 12 starts before landing on the DL.

"It's important for him to finish out this season well," Roenicke said. "I don't want to just put him out there when he's not stretched out or he's not throwing the ball that well. Hopefully, we'll make sure he's ready."

Gorzelanny's next start in question

MILWAUKEE -- Tom Gorzelanny's Wednesday start is in doubt after the left-hander got hit by a line drive in the second inning on Friday.

X-rays were negative, but Gorzelanny was in considerable pain after he took a Jayson Werth liner off his left elbow on just the 13th pitch he threw against the Nationals. He said nothing changed from Friday to Saturday.

"It feels exactly the same," said Gorzelanny, who had baseball seam marks on his elbow according to Brewers manager Ron Roenicke. "There's probably more to report when there's progress able to be made. Progress report whenever we find out is the progress report."

Roenicke said he spoke with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin prior to Saturday's game with the Nationals to explore the team's options if Gorzelanny is unable to go Wednesday against the Giants or beyond.

"His start on Wednesday is definitely a question mark," Roenicke said. "Doug was in earlier and we were talking about different scenarios, what we could do. It's getting really complicated."

Roenicke has already used 11 starters this season, including Gorzelanny and Saturday starter Donovan Hand, who each started in the bullpen. Top prospect Tyler Thornburg is filling in for Yovani Gallardo, who left his Tuesday start with a left hamstring strain and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.

Roenicke said the DL is a possibility for Gorzelanny, but it depends on if he will be able to make his subsequent start after Wednesday.

"We probably won't know that for the next couple days," Roenicke said. "If the next couple days the doctors don't think that that second start is a going to be a good possibility, then we may have to [put him on the DL]."

Dipping into the bullpen again for a spot starter is unlikely according to Roenicke, taking Alfredo Figaro, who returned from a month-long stint on the DL on July 24, out of the equation. That leaves a couple likely possibilities from Triple-A Nashville in Johnny Hellweg and Jimmy Nelson.

Hellweg has dominated at Nashville this season, but he already made an unsuccessful jump to the Brewers that ended in mid-July. In three starts and one relief appearance, Hellweg coughed up 13 earned runs on 19 hits (10.97 ERA) in 10 2/3 innings. His biggest issue was control as he walked 13 and struck out just three.

"We'll see, we'll see," Roenicke said. "I don't know. There are so many different things that we talked about. We've got a lot of options."

Gennett, Weeks to platoon based on matchups

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Scooter Gennett and Rickie Weeks will each see playing time at second base based on pitching matchups during Gennett's stay with the team.

Gennett became the Brewers' 26th man for their doubleheader against the Cubs on Tuesday and he was technically called up from Triple-A Nashville the next day to take the roster spot of Yovani Gallardo, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

"What we're going to do is just match up," Roencike said. "So, we're going to do that for a while, and then we'll see what happens."

Gennett made his Major League debut in early June and platooned with Weeks at second base for most of the month. He batted .214 (9-for-42) with a home run and five RBIs in 17 games and 10 starts at second base before getting optioned back to Nashville on June 26.

Weeks was hitting .184 when Gennett joined the team, but picked up the pace while sharing time at second in June. During Gennett's stay, Weeks hit .452 (19-for-42) with five home runs and nine RBIs in 14 games, 11 starts at second base.

But Weeks' production has fallen off since Gennett's return to Nashville. Entering Saturday, Weeks was hitting .175 (20-for-114) with two home runs and five RBIs in 32 games, 30 starts at second. He also made a costly error on Friday, whiffing on a likely double-play ball that resulted in a run.

Roenicke said Gennett may or may not stay with the team when Gallardo and Marco Estrada return from the disabled list.

"When Yo gets back, when Estrada gets back, we'll see if we stick with a five-man bench or a four-man one," Roenicke said. "I know it's nice to have five guys. Hopefully, we pitch well enough where we can continue to do that."

Last call

• Khris Davis and Yuniesky Betancourt were in Saturday's lineup, playing left field and first base, respectively. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said the two right-handed hitters were penciled in to face Dan Haren, because he has struggled against righty's this year.

Right-handers hit .308 with 14 home runs off Haren entering the game.

"For whatever reason, right-handers hit Haren a lot better than lefties," Roenicke said. "He's got that really good cutter that can cut in to left-handed hitters. So, that may be the main reason for it."

Kevin Massoth is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.